He says his group, aimed mainly to secure land for the poor, is mobilizing transport for more than THREE-THOUSAND youths countrywide to camp at the Prime Minister’s office indefinitely.

He says the authorities collect information each year to plan for the nation, but it appears as though they do not use the figures they gather to come up with solutions to create jobs.

The national broadcaster says the development comes amid reports saying the 2017 rate of unemployment among the NAMIBIAN youths between the ages of 15 and 34 was 43 percent.

It quotes the AFFIRMATIVE REPOSITIONING as saying the country has a total labour force of more than 570-THOUSAND, against more than 200-THOUSAND unemployed young people.

The AFFIRMATIVE REPOSITIONING is a radical movement aimed to improve the socio-economic conditions of urban youths; and it uses social media platforms to mobilise residents to apply for small land titles from municipalities.

JOB AMUPANDA, DIMBULUKWENI NAUYOMA, and GEORGE KAMBALA started the group in NOVEMBER 2014, when they achieved a wave of land applications in WINDHOEK, before spreading to other towns.

The AFFIRMATIVE REPOSITIONING came into being after the THREE men cleared land in the affluent KLEINE KUPPE Suburb of the capital and named it ERF Number 2014.

They cited high rental prices in town and nepotism in the municipality as reasons for their actions, but the authorities declared the move illegal land grabbing.

All the THREE men were in the ruling SWAPO Party Youth League, with AMUPANDA serving as Secretary for Information, Publicity and Mobilisation as well as member of the Executive Committee.

The party Top FOUR at the time, former President HIFIKEPUNYE POHAMBA, then Vice-President HAGE GEINGOB (now President), Secretary-General NANGOLO MBUMBA (now Vice President), and his Deputy LAURA MCLEOD-KATJIRUA fired the trio.

Their court case against SWAPO saw their reinstatement as party members in MAY 2016, but the NAMIBIAN youth group has not stopped applying pressure for better lives for the youth in the country./Sabanews/cam

HARARE – Anxiety has gripped ZIMBABWE ahead of a Constitutional Court verdict on the petition by the opposition MDC ALLIANCE against the 2018 Presidential Election result.

Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Zimbabwe (Pic. Agencies)

Alliance Candidate NELSON CHAMISA filed a variety of serious allegations against the Electoral Commission, ranging from withholding voter information, abuse of voter rights, cooking up ballot figures, and many others.

He has asked the Court to nullify the result and set aside the declaration of President MNANGAGWA as duly elected Head of State, to allow for a runoff or a rerun of the poll.

However, the Constitutional Court judges have taken his Head Lawyer Advocate THABANI MPOFU to task over TWO major issues: the service of court papers and lack of primary evidence to support the application.

Chief Justice LUKE MALABA is leading a Bench of EIGHT judges from the Supreme Court, including Deputy Chief Justice ELIZABETH GWAUNZA and former Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice RITA MAKARAU.

The veteran judiciary experts have asked Advocate MPOFU why his client has made an application that is building a case out of secondary evidence, while ignoring primary evidence and clear-cut court processes.

ONE privately owned daily, the NEWS DAY, says the primary evidence acquisition would require opening the sealed ballot boxes to inspect the actual votes cast in the presidential poll, and verify the alleged rigging.

Advocate MPOFU has admitted to the Court they filed Mr CHAMISA’s application late but has also given an explanation, which remains for the Court to decide on.

Advocate MPOFU has asked the judges to nullify the ballot outcome on the grounds of his client’s own figures – which do not tally with the contents of the ballot boxes – as well as a report by a private election analyst.

Chief Justice MALABA has however, insisted the Court deals with facts and material evidence, not speculative mathematical figures that ignore the original and credible documents.

Advocate MPOFU says there is no need for the MDC ALLIANCE candidate to open any ballot boxes for primary evidence because the Electoral Commission has admitted it made errors during the process, which led to the revision of the figures THREE times.

However, the judge has insisted it would have been an advantage for the applicant and easier for the Court to make an informed decision if the original documents signed by the polling agents in the presence of observers were available.

Mr CHAMISA and his legal team had 49 hours after the declaration of the results to demand opening of the boxes and recounting of the votes, according to the electoral law; but he chose to ignore that right.

The Constitutional Court has further dismissed the EU Report on the just-ended elections, which almost entirely supports the allegations by the applicant; but which the Judge has dismissed as of no use in the case since it gives no evidence or facts.

On the other hand, President MNANGAGWA’s legal team led by Advocate LEWIS URIRI has also rubbished the MDC ALLIANCE petition; which it says should not be heard in the Constitutional Court.

Advocate URIRI says the application is relying on false numbers and gives no admissible and credible evidence to the Court to substantiate the allegations by Mr CHAMISA.

He says Mr CHAMISA is making allegations of criminal nature against President MNANGAGWA, which gives the applicant an obligation to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt.

Advocate URIRI says the evidence must be clear and in accordance with competent rules of analysis, yet Mr CHAMISA’s petition lacks direct evidence as required by the law.

Meanwhile, ZIMBABWEANS have waited anxiously for a change in their country from NOVEMBER last year up to polling day on 30 JULY, and now they await with even more anxiety the FRIDAY outcome of the presidential election result challenge./Sabanews/cam

HARARE – The Constitutional Court of ZIMBABWE is this FRIDAY set to give judgement on the opposition MDC ALLIANCE petition against the 2018 presidential election result, following a day long televised hearing WEDNESDAY.

Constitutional Court Bench to deliver judgment Friday (Pic. Agencies)

Chief Justice LUKE MALABA has announced the decision after submissions by lawyers of the Applicant and the 25 Respondents, including President EMMERSON MNANGAGWA and Electoral Commission Chairperson PRISCILLA CHIGUMBA.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa (Pic. The Herald)

MDC ALLIANCE Leader NELSON CHAMISA is challenging the victory of President MNANGAGWA in the 30 JULY ballot, claiming the Electoral Commission rigged the poll massively.

He says since the Electoral Commission announced a voter turnout of 72 percent of slightly above FIVE-MILLION-600-THOUSAND, meaning the votes cast should be slightly more than FOUR-MILLION-32-THOUSAND.

MDC Alliance President Nelson Chamisa (Pic. The Herald)

Yet, Mr CHAMISA says, the Commission announced a total FOUR-MILLION-775-THOUSAND-640 voters and before issuing a compact disc with a total FOUR-MILLION-774-THOUSAND-878 voters.

He says either of the TWO figures leaves a difference of more than 700-THOUSAND ballots that cannot be accounted for; and his lawyers, led by Advocate THABANI MPOFU, are representing him before the NINE-member panel of judges.

On the other hand, Mr CHAMISA says the Commission initially gave President MNANGAGWA 50-POINT-EIGHT percent of the total ballots but later revised the figure to 50-POINT-SIX-SEVEN percent.

He says the Court should invalidate the results and order a run-off of the presidential ballot, because President MNANGAGWA failed to win the mandatory 50 percent-plus-ONE-vote of the total.

Among other serious allegations against the electoral body, basing on findings by what his team presence as an expert elections analyst, Mr CHAMISA claims the Commission denied some 40-THOUSAND teachers a chance to vote during the elections.

However, the judges have asked Advocate MPOFU why his client is concentrating his accusations against the 23RD Respondent, Electoral Commission Chairperson, when the petition is against the FIRST Respondent – President MNANGAGWA’s victory.

They have further queried why the Applicant is choosing to dwell on secondary evidence, when the ballot boxes are still available and sealed: and while the lawyers have had legal right to open them.

Advocate MPOFU says they are targeting the Commission because its alleged omissions and deliberate manipulation of the ballot figures have allegedly benefitted the FIRST Respondent.

The Lawyer also says Mr CHAMISA has seen no need to open the ballots because the Electoral Commission figures, allegedly altered THREE times, are enough proof the election result is not credible.

President MNANGAGWA, through his team of legal experts led by Advocate LEWIS URIRI, says Mr CHAMISA’s application FIRSTLY does not comply with the rules of the Court and the Constitution.

He says, furthermore, the applicant must also be criticised for what he describes as the grossly childish manner in which Mr CHAMISA prosecuted the petition, and the Court must dismiss it.

He says the opposition leader made unproven claims of suffering overall prejudice of 345-THOUSAND-784 votes due to polling station specific cases of voter intimidation, voter coercion, and/or otherwise potential manipulation.

President MNANGAGWA says in fact, the expert in the opposition report FIRST claims an overall prejudice of the applicant of 305-THOUSAND-784 votes, and without explanation changes the number some few paragraphs later to 345-THOUSAND-784 votes.

He says while the ballot tallies give him TWO-MILLION-455-THOUSAND-559 votes, which equates to 50-POINT-SEVEN percent of the votes cast, the figure is still enough for him to win the election comfortably.

President MNANGAGWA, who took over from former dictator ROBERT MUGABE last NOVEMBER, says there is nothing in the source documents of Mr CHAMISA to support any allegations of voter intimidation.

He says the MDC ALLIANCE Leader has not proven violation of the V-11 forms and any alteration of figures in favour of the ruling party, while his application relies on alleged mathematical anomalies with no factual foundation.

The Electoral Commission has also dismissed the assertions by Mr CHAMISA, saying the applicant does not present any proof of the serious allegations against Commission Chairperson CHIGUMBA and her officers.

The Constitutional Court ruling on the electoral petition is to take place at 14:00 hrs tomorrow; after which President MNANGAGWA’s inauguration takes place within 48 hours if he wins the case.

Otherwise, ZIMBABWE should brace for a run-off if the Court decides no candidate won the legitimate 50 percent-plus-ONE-vote, or for a rerun within 60 days if the Court invalidates the voting process altogether./Sabanews/cam